Naruto: The Moon Chronicals
by DENS413
Summary: the shinobi of konoha are about to face enemies they didn't even know existed. multiple crossover naruto kingdom hearts avatar. please R
1. Prologue

He could hardly breathe through the blood caked in his mouth. He couldn't even move because if he did another wave of blood would come. The knee to his midsection must have been strong enough to rip his stomach open. The other two idiots must be dead. Kakashi was off fighting the older ninja, probably a Jonin, so he couldn't expect his help either. The three of them just stood there. Why didn't they kill him already? It would at least stop the pain. One of them was getting closer. He stopped right in front of him and kneeled. "Stop!" the red-head shouted. "That's enough, Riku." The other one said. He could barely recognize the voices through the haze the blood loss was causing. The one in front of him must be the silver haired one. He must be moving in for the kill. But he didn't pull out a kunai or any other weapon. He simply whispered in his ear. "Don't let it consume you" he said. "After you lose control it'll never let go no matter what you do." He rose and he heard them leave. After what felt like an eternity he heard a scream and he heard Kakashi's voice calling him through fog in his mind bringing him back from the grip of his own demise.

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Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters.

R&R please


	2. Setting The Stage: Rigging the Exams

Two weeks had passed since Kakashi's team was attacked during a rescue mission to find a lost girl; a D-ranked mission that nearly took the lives of Sasuke Uchiha and Sakura Harano. Sakura only suffered a few scratches and a broken arm but Sasuke suffered severe internal bleeding that had forced the medic-nin to drain his stomach. To everyone's surprise though Kakashi had still recommended his team for the Chunin Exams. Incredibly, they had recovered in time for the exams. The death of shinobi was not an uncommon thing to the village and the fact that they had survived was all the more reason to forget the whole incident. It was a decision they would all, very soon, regret.

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The written exam went as usual; huge amounts of cheating and people getting thrown out and ending with the all or nothing question. The only thing that seamed odd was the fact that quite a few of the genin were wearing black hooded robes that hid they're faces; a fact that creeped out the other genin.

The second part of the exam began as normal with the explanation of the rules and the various teams entering the forest of death. But as this was happening the canopy of the forest was the only witness of a conversation between two extremely powerful ninja.

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"I would not think that something as unimportant as an exam would trouble the leader of the Moon." The pale-skinned one said.

"I don't have time to play your stupid games Orochimaru." The silver-haired one said. "I have more important things to worry about than you."

"I warn you, I have my own plans here today. Do not interfere."

"Do as you wish. I will not get in the way of your silly obsessions."

He did a series of hand signs and said: "Infinite Darkness Jutsu." This engulfed the whole forest in darkness just as the genin were entering it.

"One of the Hokages' secret jutsu." Orochimaru said in shock.

"Where do you think they learned it you fool?"

"Don't underestimate me Xemnas."

"I never have." Xemnas said "You simply have not been enough of a threat to truly worry me."

"Oh, and you can do what ever you want with the fox-boy or the Uchiha."

He disappeared into the darkness of the forest leaving Orochimaru with an uncontrolled rage.

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When Sasuke entered the forest almost immediately every thing went black. At some point he was knocked out and he now found himself in front of the exam stadium. Naruto and Sakura were talking to three other genin that Sasuke didn't recognize. Two of them were dressed in blue furs and the third was bald with an arrow shaped tattoo on his head. When he tried to get up a searing pain ran through his shoulder and when he looked at it he saw a strange tattoo shaped like the markings in the Sharingan. He finally rose and joined his teammates.

"Hey Sasuke, you finally woke up, alright." Naruto called.

When he reached them Naruto started blabbing again. "These are Ang, Sokka and Katara. They're from some place called the New Bendy Tribe."

"Bender," Sakura corrected. "The New Bender Tribe Naruto."

"Hi." The bald one said.

The other boy started looking him over and finally said: "I don't like him."

"Sokka!" the girl said angrily.

Sasuke ignored them and turn to his teammates.

"What happened?"

"Oh!" Sakura said. She pulled out two scrolls and held them up. "It seems we passed…somehow."

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A/N: I hope I'll be able to manage two fics at once but I promise I'll try. Oh, and to those of you who hoped it to be only a crossover with Kingdom Hearts I'm sorry but I really think this is a story that should be told the original way I planed it, which means Avatar needs to be included.

Disclaimer: I own nothing.


	3. Mystery of the Exams:Preliminaries Begin

When they entered the stadium they immediately noticed how crowded it was. There were clearly too many teams. This was something that the Leaf jonin didn't overlook.

"Asuma." Kakashi called. "Have you noticed there are way too many teams?"

"Yeah, they'll have too do preliminaries."

"No, I mean there are more teams than the scrolls should have allowed."

"Don't worry Kakashi. The Hokage's been informed. If he sees nothing wrong with it then you shouldn't get worked up about it."

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"Look," Aang said "Toph passed too."

Toph was a squat blind girl that was accompanied by her teammates; two tall boys. One had an angry look on his face but he still was quite handsome. The other one was bald except for a topknot and he had a huge scar on the right side of his face over his eye.

"Hey twinkle toes, who are your new friends." She asked.

"Oh, these are Naruto, Sakura and Sasuke."

"Well I'm Toph. Scarface over there is Zuko and the idiot with the two hook swords is Jet. We're the number two ranked team of the tribe."

"Wow," Naruto said "so that means you're the number one team then aren't you Aang."

"Not exactly" said an embarrassed Aang.

"These losers." Jet said. "Never. They're number three."

"The number one team leader, Azula, refused to come." Toph said. "She's already a jonin in our village so she really doesn't need to come here but she isn't recognized by the other villages so she could have come if she wanted to."

"Our tribe's recognition should be enough." Zuko said.

"She's only there because your daddy put her there, so shut up Zuko." Jet said.

This team didn't seam very united. The two boys were giving each other looks that had hatred written all over them; of course Sasuke gave Naruto a similar look sometimes but it didn't get that far or so Naruto hoped.

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The explanation of the preliminaries was given and as the board was deciding the first match Sasuke looked through the crowd and noticed that there was no one wearing robes like they saw in the written exam. That meant that many of these genin had been wearing them then. As he was eyeing them his heart stopped for a second; he recognized one of the teams. It was the same team that had attacked them during the rescue mission. There they were, the one named Riku, the girl with the dark red hair and the one with the goofy hair that used a large key as his weapon. As he was turning to tell Sakura the screen show the first match up:

Naminé

Vs.

Sakura Harano

"I'm fighting first." Sakura said.

Her opponent was a girl in a white dress that seemed even weaker than Sakura. This first match seemed to be destined to be very boring.

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On the other side of the stadium the two teams from the Hidden Moon Village got together.

"Naminé." Riku said. "Remember you have to stop once the fight ends. You have to promise you'll try to stop yourself after the fight ends, is that clear."

This brought tears to Naminé's eyes. How could he remind her now right before the fight? She remained silent but the boy beside her, Roxas, wouldn't leave it at that.

"Damn it, Riku." He said. "How dare you say that to her? You think we like being like this. Just because you and Sora can control it some you think your special or something."

"Hey, that's not fair." Sora said.

"Just because you bug out once a month doesn't mean you understand." Roxas said.

"That's enough Roxas." Naminé said. "I promise I'll try Riku, is that enough?"

At this point Riku regretted saying any thing but he answered. "Yes Naminé and I'm sorry."

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Kakashi approached his team, seriously worried about the first match.

"Sakura." he said. "You have to forfeit the match."

"What." She said shocked at his words.

"Come on Kakashi sensei don't say that." Naruto said. "Sakura can take her, can't you Sakura?"

"Naruto's right sensei," Sakura said. "I want to fight."

"Fine," Kakashi said "just don't be over confident or you'll get hurt."

"All right, I promise."

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Disclaimer: I don't own the characters and I don't even own the story that much so there.


	4. First Match: The Monster Behind The Veil

The ground floor had been cleared for the fight. The two girls stood at opposite ends of the arena staring each other down. Before the supervisor could give the signal to begin Naminé spoke: "I'll say this once. Forfeit please."

"Why is every one saying that? I can take you."

"Fine, then you'll have to learn the hard way."

With these words a small chain appeared in her hand. It was a simple ring link chain that ended in a crescent moon that seemed to be quite sharp. It was a chain that the Hokage recognized immediately.

'A Moon Chain.' He thought. 'To anyone who doesn't know it's meaning it seams to be just a trinket, a good luck charm but I have seen many skilled ninja die because of it.'

"It is part of a Moon ninja's required equipment. We will have to be very alert with this match."

The supervisor signaled the beginning of the match. Naminé began spinning the chain and called out. "Drive Form: Rage." She shouted and a dark light shone at her feet and climbed up her legs it quickly engulfed her and when it dissipated her dress had turned black with red slashes at seemingly random positions and her eyes had turned blood red. The chain had grown so that now one end was wrapped around one of her hands and even then the end she held in her other hand trailed on the ground. The crescent blade had grown along with the chain and you could now clearly see that its edge had been made with the intent to kill. Everyone in the room was left speechless. The innocent girl had become a demon.

She spun the chain and lashed out. Sakura had to use all her speed to avoid the attack. Naminé attacked again and again and Sakura became fatigued just dodging her attacks. Sakura knew she couldn't keep this up so she tried to attack. Naminé spun out of the way of Sakura's attack and plunged the crescent into her opponents back. She ripped it out and a spurt of blood followed it. Naminé moved toward her opponent with the intent to kill but Sakura wasn't out of it yet. She spun and landed a kick to Naminé's face pushing her back.

The two girls faced each other. Naminé moved to her right and Sakura mirrored her move trying to catch her off guard but Naminé lashed out with the bladeless end of her chain. It wrapped around Sakura's neck and began choking her. Naminé pulled on it and brought Sakura to her knees. The chain began to tighten as if moved by its master's will. Naminé kneeled in front of her opponent with the fury in her eyes. "This is your fault." She said. "You should have quit when you had the chance." She picked up the bloody crescent and pierced Sakura's stomach. The scream was bone chilling.

At this point the Leaf jonin could not take it any longer. Kakashi entered with a kick that sent Naminé flying back. Kurenai and Asuma were already moving Sakura from the arena. Naminé rose ready to fight Kakashi but the Third Hokage himself moved and grabbed the girl by the face. Naminé's clothes quickly changed back and she passed out because of the jutsu. A sweating and shaking Hokage turned to face Kakashi.

"Lord Hokage, what did you do?" a stunned Kakashi said.

"That was the Darkness Suppression Jutsu; I have never used it before."

Then he turned to the other shocked genin waiting for they're turn.

"The preliminaries are suspended for today. You are to return tomorrow to finish them."

He began giving orders to the chunin and jonin near him and then he turned to Kakashi.

"Kakashi, my office now."

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Disclaimer: I own nothing.


	5. Hokage's Story:The Suffering of the Moon

Kakashi entered the Hokage's office determined to get some answers. One of his students had been put in danger and he wouldn't tolerate that. When the Hokage saw him he actually smiled; the way he was acting reminded him of a young Kakashi who took everything too seriously but today he really had an excuse for the attitude. The Hokage had allowed one of his team to be hurt and now he would have to deal with Kakashi's anger.

"I want some answers." Kakashi demanded. "What the hell happened here today?"

"Be careful Kakashi; do not forget who you speak to."

"I'm sorry sir but I need to know why you would allow this."

"Sit down Kakashi, I need to give you some information so that you may understand."

So Kakashi sat and calmed down a bit. The Hokage took a deep breath and began his story.

"In these next exams we will be dealing with genin on par with Naruto." The Hokage said.

"What do you mean Lord Hokage?" Kakashi said.

"Naruto, because of the fox demon that resides within him, has that potential to have unlimited charka that would kill him if he ever unleashed it. At the exams two other genin have this kind of power. The first is one of the Moon shinobi you faced. He embodies the darkness of his village. The only thing that stops him is a person known as the Princess of Light which accompanies him at all moments. Should either of them die hundreds of lives would be lost. With her death nothing would suppress the darkness in him and he would release it tenfold by adding his own anger to it. Should he be the one to die her purpose would be lost and in her suffering she would unleash the light within her purging every thing around her. This means that if it were to happen during the exams our village would be destroyed. This purging leaves her in a wasteland created by the consuming light she releases. At the completion of either of these events the surviving one, be it the princess or the shadow, would simply die."

"So, they die together."

"Exactly."

Kakashi remained quiet for a moment. The story, to say the least, was a sad one and the fact that it was true made it even more horrifying. He thought about Naruto, who grew up being treated like a monster; he grew up alone but at least they had someone to share the burden with. "Lord Hokage. How are they treated in their village?"

The Hokage smiled at this. "You think of Naruto don't you? No, their situation is completely different. The whole point of his creation is to ease the suffering of the village. The Moon is a twisted and cursed place were madness and chaos rule. Even with the shadow they suffer greatly. They are highly respected by the villagers, even loved by some of them, for easing their suffering. Many times they even become the leaders of the village. But that is something Naruto is working for too, isn't it."

"Those are the two genin on par with Naruto then."

"Sadly, no. The two genin I speak of can release their power at almost any moment. The princess can only, in theory, release hers when the shadow dies."

"In theory?"

"With proper training she may be able to control it to some extent but we must be aware that another strong emotion may cause her to release the energy inside her."

"So they're village must be in constant fear of her."

"They don't have time to worry about her. During the month they have to fight to just survive and every new moon they have to deal with the shadow's outbreak."

"Outbreak?"

"Every new moon he releases some of his darkness sometimes killing a few of the villagers."

"And they don't hate him for it?"

"It is difficult to understand. Let me try to explain. You saw the girl fight correct." Kakashi nodded. "That is they're true form."

"That can't be true."

"That is the purpose of the shadow. To suppress they're true selves. With out him they would be killing each other constantly. Even with him they transform at night and lose control over themselves. This is also true on new moons so they don't even remember who kills who."

"And when the shadow dies?"

"They are like that all the time. That is why they appreciate them so much. Because of them they can try to lead normal lives during the day."

"But they can be killed in the night. How can they live like that."

"A normal day is worth much more than you think. Don't take it for granted Kakashi."

"The shadow doesn't transform during the month but what about the princess."

"I never said he didn't transform during the month but that is correct he doesn't. Now, the princess never transforms which means every new moon she's completely alone in a village of monsters. Is that what you wanted to know Kakashi?"

All this was making Kakashi feel pity toward the girl instead of the anger he should be feeling. Then he remembered what had begun the story.

"Who is the other one then?" Kakashi asked.

"The other genin that equals Naruto?"

"Yes."

"He is a soul created millennia ago in another world."

"Another world?"

"Yes but that is a part we will have to leave for another time. Please allow me to finish. It is a soul whose name is now lost to us and so its new incarnations are simply known as the Avatar. The current Avatar is a boy named Aang and he is currently participating in these exams. The difference between him and the other two is that his body can take the strain of using the full extent of his power with out killing him. To do this he enters a trance that allows him to connect with his past incarnations."

"What does this have to do with what happened today?" Kakashi asked.

"The Avatar? Nothing. But the shadow is the whole reason the Moon has come out of hiding. I spoke with they're leader and he believes these exams hold the key to freeing their village from they're curse."

"So you put your people's lives in danger to help them." an enraged Kakashi said.

This brought a tear to the Hokage's eyes. This shocked Kakashi so much that he sat back down and almost forgot his anger.

"I was arrogant." The Hokage said. "I thought I could control the situation. I took pity in them and agreed to help. That is why I allowed him to cheat in the forest of death. As you may have noticed; all of the Moon teams passed including the ones that are not indicated as being from the Moon. All but one of the Leaf's teams passed; this was probably done as a favor to me for permitting the manipulation of the exams. The others were picked at random. Forgive me Kakashi please. I never thought it would get so out of hand and now it is too late to turn back."

"I failed you and I failed the village and that is something I will never forgive myself."

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Disclaimer: I don't own the characters or parts of the story.


	6. Terrible Secrets: Breaking the Curse

Ino walked into the hospital room that Sakura would be staying in that night. She had been horrified at the sight of best friend's stomach being cut open. She had known being a kunoichi would include blood and violence but she had never imagined it to be like this.

The scene she found in the room would have been comical had the circumstances been different. Kneeling beside a sleeping Sakura was Rock Lee wailing with rivers of tear pouring out of his eyes. Watching the whole scene was a very confused Naruto.

"Who are you again?" Naruto asked.

The answer never came. At that moment Sasuke noticed Ino was in the room.

"What do you want?" Sasuke demanded.

"Yeah, Ino, what _are_ you doing here?" Naruto asked.

"Sakura's my best friend, isn't she?" Ino said.

The room was filled with a heavy silence; even Lee had become quiet. At that moment it hit Ino. Sakura wasn't her best friend; she hadn't been in a few years. They had spent they're time fighting over Sasuke. The shock of seeing her so badly hurt had made her forget about everything except the fact that she had to be there for her.

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity she broke the silence.

"How is she?" she said.

Everyone moved at once. Sasuke leaned against the wall with an angry look on his face, Lee started wailing again and Naruto just smiled at her.

"She's fine but the medic-nin really did a number on her so she's really tired." Naruto said.

Sakura was in fact in a deep sleep, which explained why she hadn't kicked Lee out yet.

"I still don't know who this guy is though." Naruto whispered to her. "Mind helping me out?"

Ino had to cover her mouth to stop herself from laughing out loud. "That's Rock Lee, Naruto. He's Neji's teammate."

"Oh, right, Taijutsu-boy!"

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Night had already fallen over Konoha. Kakashi had just left the Hokage's office. The conversation had left the Hokage emotionally tired but his worries were far from over. As soon as Kakashi left, Xemnas arrived.

"Why did you suspend the preliminaries, Sarutobi?"

The Hokage gave him a very dark look. He wasn't filled with hate, only one man deserved his hatred at this point in his life, but he was truly angry with the man in front of him.

"You know very well why Xemnas."

"I'm not trying to be cynical Sarutobi but you know it is in neither of our interests to wait too long to end this."

"Don't threaten me Xemnas."

The comment had hurt. Never in his life would Xemnas dare threaten the man in front of him. This man had helped him too much. In the past he would have used such tactics but it had been precisely Sarutobi who had helped him out of that darkness he had once lived in.

"Sarutobi, I understand you're worried but measure your words. You know I can not hold my ninja in check for long. If we wait too many nights I will break."

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Riku stood silently observing the memorial stone that had the names of all the ninja that had fallen protecting the Leaf. These ninja had died protecting they're loved ones and Riku couldn't help feeling ashamed of himself. He didn't even deserve to read they're names. He had put his whole village in danger and he would never stop trying to make up for his mistakes. Even though it pained him to look at they're names he would not turn away. He forced himself to read every one of they're names and memorizing them so that he would remember the names of these true heroes.

Kairi cautiously came up behind him. She knew Master Xemnas had placed a jutsu on all of them to stop they're transformations but she still couldn't stop fearing the shadows of the night.

"Riku?" she called out timidly.

He turned and smiled at her. He would always make an effort to hide his pain in front of her. He would never burden her with it even though she was the original cause of much of it.

"What are you doing here?" she asked.

"Thinking."

"About what happened?"

The question brought a sad silence between them.

"What's it like Riku?" she asked trying to change the subject.

"You tell me, princess." He teased.

He teased but the comment made her turn away from him but not before he saw the tears forming in her eyes. 'Man' he thought 'people in our village are way too emotional; though I'm not one to talk.'

"It feels great Kairi." He said choosing to ignore her tears.

"It's great not having to worry for a few days." He said with fake enthusiasm.

That was not the right thing to say because he heard a muffled sob coming from her.

"I'll leave you alone now, ok." She said in a choked voice.

She ran from him leaving him with his chest heavy with guilt because of his own stupidity.

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"Forgive me Xemnas but I am nervous. Things have gotten out of hand with the exams and Orochimaru."

"I should never have mentioned my encounter with him."

"You did the right thing Xehanort." a voice from behind Xemnas said. "Do not trouble yourself with the Leaf; Sarutobi knows what must be done."

Xemnas sighed. He didn't need to turn around to know who was behind him. He recognized his voice and the name he chose to call him gave him away.

"Welcome Ansem, please take a seat." Sarutobi said.

"So the Magus has finally decided to show his face, then." Xemnas said.

"I would like to keep this civil, please." Sarutobi said.

"Of course Sarutobi but as you know Xehanort and I have our disagreements."

"Not now DiZ, please." Xemnas said.

"Fine but our discussion is not over."

"What discussion?" Sarutobi demanded.

"Now is a good time as ever to tell him Xehanort."

"This does not concern him, Ansem."

"Of course it concerns me!" Sarutobi roared. "My village has been involved in this. I demand to know everything about this concerned with this mission."

"Calm down Sarutobi. I'll fill you in on the details alright." Xemnas said.

"The argument is about the final stage of the operation." Ansem said.

"Why don't we start at the beginning?" Xemnas said.

"Very well, I believe you will know the first part of the story, Sarutobi." Ansem said.

"I have told you about the summoning of the Chaos Keyblade, correct." Xemnas said.

Sarutobi nodded. It had been the part he had omitted from the version he had told Kakashi.

"Well he seems to have forgotten to tell you of the prophecy that was released with its summoning. " Ansem continued.

"The prophecy states how to undo the curse. I told you the Keyblade was the final piece to the puzzle and that we had to participate in the Chunin Exams to accumulate enough energy to break the curse. This was a half-truth. The Key will not break it until the final ingredient is added to the mix." Xemnas said.

"The final piece is as common with these types of things. It is of course blood." Ansem said.

"Whose blood?" Sarutobi said

"The prophecy says that the Keyblade most be drenched in the blood of either the traitor or the darkness incarnate." Xemnas said.

"The original traitor was the founder of the Moon." Ansem said.

"My great-grandfather, Xehanort." Xemnas said.

"So the blood is yours." Sarutobi said.

"Yes, _I_ am the sacrifice."

"The other," Ansem interrupted "is obviously the Shadow."

"This brings us to our first disagreement." Xemnas said.

"I have been trying for months to convince him to choose another sacrifice." Ansem said. "The Shadow would seal the curse within the Key."

"But it would simply be dormant." Ansem said. "Its power could be used if someone were to find it."

"And no one else can replace you, then." Sarutobi said.

"You bring us to our second quarrel." Xemnas answered.

"A month ago I discovered the existence of a third option." Ansem said.

"I am not Xehanort's only descendant."

"The other is the very boy who summoned the Key." Ansem said.

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Sora walked into the clearing where Riku stood. He could tell from a few meters away that Riku was in one of his emotional moments. He was looking at the sky, lost in his turbulent thoughts. Sora knew he shouldn't disturb him but Kairi had come looking for him and she hadn't returned to the inn yet. It was nearly mid-night and they would all need the rest tomorrow.

"Hey Riku!" he called.

For the second time that night Riku turned toward the intruder to his thoughts but this time he wasn't smiling. His encounter with Kairi had left him depressed. He couldn't deal with both of the people he had hurt the most on that horrible night.

"What do you want Sora." He growled.

"You don't have to be a jerk about it Riku."

"Just tell me what you want already."

"Fine, where's Kairi?"

Riku sighed at this. They were always looking out for each other. He had spent everyday with them but he always felt left out. Even after what happened he couldn't understand why Kairi hadn't chosen him. He was always there for her even on new moons when Sora would go berserk. On those nights he would hold her until she fell asleep a few hours before sunrise. When he held her all the rage and the hate he felt just went away. Being the Princess of Light she was only supposed to have that effect on Sora but she made his darkness go away too. He had thought of the future on those nights, something quite uncommon in a village where you could wake up dead, and his plans had always included her.

His train of thought was suddenly broken when he noticed that Sora was moving away.

"Sora wait!" he shouted.

He had to know. He couldn't ask Kairi. His only choice was Sora, the best friend he had betrayed.

"What is it Riku?" He said turning around.

"Why did she pick you?"

This really surprised Sora. He was expecting the usual 'Why don't you hate me?' or 'Why did you forgive me?' that he could deal with but this he wasn't so sure about. He knew it would come up eventually, it _had_ been the reason it all started, but he had secretly wished it wouldn't.

"I don't know Riku and there's no point trying to figure it out. So just drop it already."

"You don't even care that caused everything."

"If you care so much then why don't you tell me?"

"Maybe you were meant for each other."

"Oh don't give me that crap. The Princess and The Shadow don't always end up together. It isn't a fairytale."

"There were moments I thought she loved me but you still got her."

"There are still moments when I think she does love you."

"What?"

You think we have things figured out but she's confused. When we got together she was happy but now she's just scared."

"Of me?"

"No! She's scared of herself; she's scared of what she feels for us. She thinks it's her fault you did what you did. She feels guilty. She didn't know you felt like that about her."

"That's impossible. I …"

"Yeah, yeah, you would whisper your plans into her ear on new moons; she told me all about that. She only heard bits and pieces of it so she thought you were making plans for all three of us. I thought she would get over it eventually but now I start thinking it might be something else. I'm starting to think she didn't pick you just because you didn't say anything."

This shocked Riku. He hadn't expected that answer. The whole conversation was wrong. Sora shouldn't even be admitting these doubts and especially not to him, his rival for her affection.

"I forgave you even with these doubts; even though I should hate you."

"Why? I never asked you to."

"You're my best friend Riku."

"You still consider me that?"

"Yes."

"Sora, I tried to kill you!"

"We swore we'd be there for each other. I did my part so why don't you start doing yours?"

"Your right, I am failing you again. I can't owe a loser like you."

Sora finally smiled. That sounded like the Riku he used to know.

"Look at it this way; thanks to your murder attempt we can finally save the village. Oh and you never told me where Kairi was."

"She's probably sleeping at the inn already, you idiot."

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"I refuse to let either of them take my place." Xemnas yelled at Ansem.

"The boy deserves to die after what he did." Ansem yelled back.

Both men were standing; red-faced from the anger the argument was causing.

"Both of you sit down now." Sarutobi yelled "Do not forget whose office this is."

Both men sat down glaring at each other. Then Xemnas turned to Sarutobi.

"What would you do in my place Sarutobi?"

He sighed. "I would do the same." He admitted.

"Fine do what you want. Go kill yourself."

"That's enough, Ansem." Sarutobi said.

The three leaders became silent. The magnitude of the decision that had just been made changed the whole feel of the room. A moment ago it had been heated with the anger of the two men and now it felt as cold as a morgue.

"We still have to deal with Orochimaru." Ansem said quietly.

"I have already told you I will deal with him." Sarutobi said.

"Yes but while you "deal" with him the rest of the village will be in danger." Xemnas said.

"I have taken the liberty of finding Tsunade for you Sarutobi." Ansem said.

Sarutobi had been thinking of doing just that but the recent events had stopped him from sending jonin to find her or doing it himself. With the two "good" sannin in the village he would not have to worry about the village while he faced his old pupil.

"I won't be here at the end of the exams so I have given Saïx orders to protect the Leaf."

"We aren't expecting an invasion you know. There's no need for such preparation." Sarutobi said.

"You can never be too safe when dealing with Orochimaru." Ansem said.

'No you couldn't be too safe with him around' Sarutobi thought.

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"Out, out, everyone out!" The big-busted blonde kunoichi shouted.

She was clearing out Sakura's room. When she reached Lee she had to physically move him to get him out.

"Hey, Grandma, who do you think you are kicking us out," Naruto said.

This earned him a clean swipe across his cheek that sent him spinning. After regaining some composure he stumbled out of the room with a big red whelp on his face.

"Naruto, you idiot, how could you talk to her like that." Ino said.

"What do you mean? Who was she?" Naruto said.

Ino stormed off in disbelief.

"That was Tsunade, you fool," Sasuke said "one of the legendary Sannin."

"Who?"

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Disclaimer: I don't own the characters.


	7. The Next Day: Effects of the Exams

Near one of the look-out towers Kabuto waited for his master to arrive. Orochimaru sped through the forest with his prize in arms. When his master landed before him Kabuto stared perplexed at the girl in his arms.

"Pretty isn't she?" Orochimaru said.

"Why did you bring her here, sir?"

"This, my useless apprentice, is the Princess of Light."

The name meant nothing to Kabuto. He gazed at the girl intrigued by her. Why would Orochimaru go out of his way to kidnap this girl?

"Why do you want her?" Kabuto asked.

"I'd like to know that myself." Xemnas asked from behind Kabuto.

Kabuto spun to face the new arrival. Xemnas floated from the canopy of the trees to land before the men.

"Let her go Orochimaru."

"Now why would I do that?"

"She is of no use to you." Xemnas answered. "Why wouldn't you?"

Orochimaru stuck his long tongue out and licked his victim's cheek making her shiver.

"I may find uses for her." He said.

"Fine," Xemnas said "I will give you one chance to obey."

He held up his hand at Kabuto and said: "Submit." Kabuto fell to the ground screaming in pain.

"Let the girl go or your servant dies."

"Kill him if you wish," Orochimaru said "he is of no use to me after you eliminated him from the exams."

"Very well then," Xemnas said "if you don't let her go you will be next."

At this Orochimaru's eyes thinned in anger.

"How about a trade," Orochimaru began "I…"

"Your servant for the girl." Xemnas said.

"I don't think I agree with those terms."

"I don't think you have a choice."

They stared each other down until Orochimaru approached Xemnas and dropped the girl at his feet. Orochimaru backed away and Xemnas released his hold on Kabuto.

"I thought such tactics were above you now." Orochimaru said.

"I may be reformed but I am still not the pure hearted Hokage of this village."

Orochimaru's face went from surprise to respect at the answer. Xemnas picked Kairi up and turned to carry her to the hotel.

"May the rest of your days be filled with pain, Orochimaru." Xemnas said.

"I thought people from your village didn't take curses lightly." Orochimaru said.

"We don't."

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The next day Kairi awoke in her inn room none the wiser of her rescue from Orochimaru. She had no idea how she had gotten to the inn but she didn't worry about it. The others didn't even notice her mysterious arrival because the only ones awake were Riku and Sora and they arrived moments after Xemnas had deposited her in her bed.

They all woke up exited about the exams. Today they would finally be able to fight and do their part in helping their village. Sora, Riku and Kairi though, were still tired from the long night they had. They all marched to the stadium they had left the previous day.

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Zuko woke up in one of the tents the benders had set up in one of the training fields in the Leaf. He could feel the tension of his teammates as they got dressed and he had to admit it was getting to him too. He had accepted the offer to come because his father had denied him the rank in their village. He would prove to him and to his sister that he could be a chunin, that he deserved the rank.

They stepped out of the tent and joined the other team to eat breakfast. They were relaxed, with the carefree attitude that he hated so much. How could they be so relaxed, when the honor of the whole village was in their hands? And there he was, the Avatar. Oh, how he hated him. His father would always remind him of how he could have surpassed the Avatar if he had trained harder. He had trained day and night trying to surpass him and he had. He was on a higher team than the Avatar and he had been recognized by the council for his great skill in fire bending but that was never enough for his father. It took every thing in his power to stop himself from trying to kill him.

He would have to control himself on the walk to the stadium.

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Naruto had hardly slept the previous night. His nerves had kept him awake almost through the night but he didn't even feel sleepy. At around 4:00 am he devoured a gallon of instant ramen and at 4:15 he couldn't wait any longer. He set out for the stadium but was distracted at one of the training fields.

Sasuke Uchiha was training and from the looks of it he had been there awhile. He was sweating and he had bags under his eyes from the lack of sleep. As he preformed his kata he repeated something under his breath. It took Naruto a few minutes but he was able to make out the mantra.

"I won't let them hurt her again" he chanted.

Naruto realized that he was talking about Sakura. Sasuke had seen his whole family slaughtered but Sakura's injury had affected him. Naruto watched him for what seemed like hours until he fell to his knees exhausted. Sasuke grabbed his shoulder in pain and Naruto supposed that he had overworked it. He approached him to try and help.

"Stay away Naruto!" Sasuke screamed.

"Calm down." Naruto said. "I just want to help."

"GO AWAY!"

Naruto couldn't understand why he didn't just let him help. Sasuke began panting heavily and Naruto noticed something black creeping down from under his sleeve. Sasuke bit his lip hard enough to draw blood as he felt himself burn up inside. Tears came to his eyes when he thought of Sakura; she could have been killed and he hadn't moved to save her. He was failing the people close to him again.

The tears caused the curse mark to calm down and the pain slowly went away. He got up and rushed into the forest without looking at Naruto.

After Naruto came out his daze he sped to the stadium. He arrived at 5:30 right after the other teams.

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The stadium was filled once again with genin and the tension was overwhelming. The teams had been on edge the previous day but today it was different. The veil had been lifted from their eyes. They now knew these exams would not be pretty.

'This is not good,' Kakashi thought 'even the ones like Naruto and Lee are acting serious.'

The other jonin seemed to be thinking the same thing because they had the same worried looks on their faces. The screen started to decide the next match and everyone stared at it as if it held the secrets of the universe.

Riku

Vs.

Zuko

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Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters.

A/N: I shouldn't do this here but for those of you who read my other fic forgive my delay but the next chapter has given me a monstously hard time so it might take a few more days.

A/N2: Thank you for reading this fic and please review. Without reviews i don't know how I'm doing so again please review.


	8. Duel of the Princes: Moon vs Fire

The two ninja took their positions facing each other. The examiner signaled the start of the fight and Riku began a series of furious hand signs. "Summoning Jutsu" he called before his hand struck the ground. When it made contact it didn't stop but plunged into a black puddle that had formed. He pulled it out and brought with it a dark, wing shaped sword. "Soul Eater Darkblade" he called as he took up his stance.

He charged Zuko and launched a chain of quick swipes that Zuko dodged easily. Zuko retaliated with his own combo that ended with a fireball into Riku's chest that pushed him back.

"Your good," Riku said "I'll have to get serious with you."

He pointed the Soul Eater at the roof and called out: "Drive Form: Dark." Black cords erupted from the sword and wrapped themselves around his arm. Soon the material covered his whole body forming a dark muscle suit.

Riku stuck again and the assault sent Zuko flying skyward. Riku jumped in pursuit and positioned himself behind Zuko were he preformed another series of hand signs. "Moon Secret Technique: Dark Firaga Jutsu." A black ball of fire crashed into Zuko's back. They both landed on their feet but Zuko was clearly hurt.

Zuko attacked first and caught Riku off guard putting him on the defensive. He kicked Riku back and preformed his own hand signs. "Fire Style: Fire Typhoon Jutsu." The fire started near Riku's feet and quickly trapped him in a whirlwind of fire. Riku answered with his own jutsu, Wind Style: Aero Jutsu, which dissipated the attack.

Zuko was exhausted from the attack but Riku was showing no signs of weariness. He began he second summoning jutsu of the fight; the Shadow Summoning Jutsu. Around a dozen black, fidgeting creatures appeared. They lunged at Zuko and restrained his arms and legs. They forced him to kneel before Riku. Riku approached him and raised his sword to deal the final blow but Zuko stopped him by blowing a stream of fire from his mouth. The blast hit Riku in the chest and the flames blinded him for a second. Zuko broke the monsters' hold on him and once again he drove Riku back.

Riku stopped the assault by cutting into one of Zuko's legs but Zuko would not give up. Riku gathered the darkness within him until it became visible in the form of a black aura. He rose from the ground and began the Dark Aurora attack. He flew across the arena cutting Zuko every time he came close. At the end of the attack Zuko was on his knees. His armor was shredded to pieces and he had various deep cuts all over him. At this point the match was stopped and the medic-nin dragged Zuko, who had blacked-out, from the arena.

Riku banished the sword and the shadows and his clothe returned to normal and he returned to his teammates. The stadium was quiet. They were better prepared for the violence but they were still new to it. The only teams that had any real experience with this level of violence were Naruto's team, which had face Zabuza, and Gaara's team, for obvious reasons.

After the genin settled down the screen began to select the next match. At that moment the doors of the stadium flew open and a man dressed in a black hooded robe walked in. Everyone's attention was diverted towards him when the screen read:

Sasuke Uchiha

Vs.

Axel

The man pulled the hood from his head to reveal a mane of bright red hair.

"Looks like I arrived just in time."

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Disclaimer: I don't own the characters.

A/N: This is fight and the prologue gave birth to the whole story. That's why the duel itself is longer than usual; I've had more time to work on it. I'll try to get the other chapter in before the weekend ends. Sorry for the short chapter. Please review.


	9. Return of the Exams:The Final Matches

"You're late." Roxas said when Axel reached him.

"I know already so stop badgering me."

Axel unzipped his cloak to reveal a black leather jacket with his two chakram strapped on to it. He unhooked them and took two warm up swings.

"Perfect." He said.

"Just go before they disqualify you." Roxas said.

Axel took up his position and waited for his opponent. Sasuke was still tired from his training and you could tell how sore he was. 'This is my opponent!' Axel thought. 'He's got bags under his eyes, come on.'

The examiner started the fight and Sasuke immediately activated his Sharingan. His shoulder felt like it hade exploded and in a way it had. The curse mark spread like wildfire across his body.

"I won't lose no matter how freaky you get." Axel said. "Got it memorized?"

Sasuke charged him and Axel preformed a series of hand signs. "Fire Style: Fire Wall Jutsu." A wall of fire slammed into Sasuke and sent him flying back. Axel threw his weapons at him but Sasuke caught one and dodged the other. He threw it back at Axel and he had a second to notice the scorch mark it had left before the other chakram slammed into his back. Both weapons glided back into Axel's hands.

"Back at the Moon we become very close to our weapon." Axel said. "Don't forget it."

Sasuke got up and attacked. Axel was launched into the air and Sasuke followed by driving a fist into his stomach. Axel kicked him away and they finally landed. Axel jumped at him but Sasuke sidestepped the attack and drove a kunai into Axel's back. Axel spun to face Sasuke and did a series of hand signs. "Moon Technique: Fira Jutsu." A ring of fire formed around him, driving Sasuke back again.

The two were facing each other again but Axel fell to his knees from the blood loss. The examiner ended the fight but Sasuke attack.

"Sasuke stop!"

Sakura's shout stopped him cold. Even her voice was enough to control him. He fainted from the exhaustion and the curse mark retreated. Kakashi carried him from the arena as Roxas and Riku helped Axel.

Once again things were back to normal. The screen began its ritual again.

Toph Bei Fong

Vs.

Gaara

Gaara licked his lips, ready for his chance to fight but as he walked to take up position he was extremely disappointed. His opponent was obviously blind. They took up positions and the match began.

Gaara launched a stream of sand from the jug on his back. Toph took a step forward and the sands parted falling behind her.

"So you're a sand bender." Toph said. "This will be fun."

She ran at him and directed a punch to his face. The sands moved to protect him but she went clean through, landing a hard blow to his nose. Gaara stumbled back shocked by the fact that the sands had allowed her to touch him. He suddenly heard Shukaku's voice: _"Fight you fool I can't stop all of her attacks." _ Gaara threw a punch at her but she dodged and tripped him causing him to land flat on his face.

Humiliated Gaara rose and faced her again. Toph moved her foot on the ground and had a frown on her face. She stopped and a smile crossed her lips. "Cheater." She said. She made a quick swipe back, pulling the sand from his skin. A cloud of sand formed and she made stone spikes from it and launched them at him. The sand stopped them, breaking them into sand again. Gaara sent wave after wave of sand at her and she pushed every attack away from her. She was sweating now and Gaara saw his opportunity. He sent a blast of sand at her but he split the sand and it came from three sides. She stopped two of the attacks but the third one hit her side and knocked her down.

"You're not a sand bender are you?" Toph asked.

"How dare you compare me to that filth?"

"Fine just calm down you big rat."

Gaara grabbed his head screaming. A voice that wasn't his rose from him.

"How dare you, you little brat." Shukaku said.

"Great, I think you'll recognize this Shukaku.

Toph lifted her hand saying: "Sand Coffin." The sand surrounded and began to crush its former master. Toph closed her fist, "Sand Burial" she said, and the sand crushed him.

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Spying on them was Kabuto who saw Gaara fall. He rushes to Orochimaru's side to report the results.

"Shukaku has fallen," Orochimaru said. "the invasion begins today.

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Disclaimer: I don't own the charactes.


	10. Crashing the Exams: The Invasion Begins

The screen began to choose again as the genin waited anxiously for their turn. The moment it stopped the roof of the stadium exploded. Men in black and red armor jumped in though the gap and began fighting with the Leaf jonin.

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Back at the city the situation was not very different. The town had been swarmed by these soldiers in black. The buildings burst into flames in seconds. The villagers were mercilessly killed on sight as the black army move into the streets of Konoha.

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The stadium was filled with debris and the fighting was not helping as they destroyed more parts of the stadium. All of the genin had joined the fight except for Gaara's team who were escaping. Katara fought two of them and was handling it well until one of them launched a ball of fire at her. She stopped it easily with a water shield but she realized that she wasn't fighting shinobi but firebenders. Their armor looked like Zuko's but they had additional helmets and masks. In her distraction she was hit by a second fire attack. She was saved by a man in green that took them out with a kick. He then turned toward her and flashed a smile at her. "That's the power of youth!" he said and jumped back in to the fighting.

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As the black army moved toward the center of the city nine black cloaks shot from the roofs of the houses. They all preformed the same hand seals and a wave of white creatures appeared in the streets. The moved toward the black army and engaged them. The black soldiers destroyed many of them but the white beasts kept appearing, thus halting the army's advance.

Above the scene the nine cloaked figures removed their hoods revealing the faces of Xigbar, Xaldin, Vexen, Lexaeus, Zexion, Demyx, Luxord, Marluxia and Larxene. Each of them summoned their weapons and dived into the battle to push pack the black army.

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The attackers were being defeated back at the stadium. The ninja were driving them back toward the doors of the stadium. One of the firebenders blew open the doors and the invaders ran through. The ninja followed them through the forest until they saw Konoha. Half of the town was in flames. They saw the black and white armies fighting in the streets and the Sound and Sand shinobi on the roofs. This was not a small raid but a full blown invasion.

They all ran into the city and confronted other sections of the black army. The fighting was intense enough for the Moon ninja to transform. Naminé used her Rage form, Roxas had a blood red cloak in his form and was using two red keyblades, Axel's skin became bright red and he had grown horns, Riku wasin his Dark form with the Soul Eater and Shadows surrounding him, Seifer was flyingwith black leather wings and cutting with his new claws, Rai became a huge golem that sent lightning bolts at the enemy and Fuu's shirt and pants had become a flowing blue robe and she launched gusts of cutting wind at the soldiers.

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In the center of the fighting the leader of the invaders was pinned by the white army. He ran into a house trying to get away. The house was empty except for a table, were a man with azure hair sat.

"General Zhao," he said "I've been expecting you."

Saïx rose from his chair and moved towards him. His screams were heard across the village.

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As the teams moved through the village Riku got separated from the others. He became lost in the twists and turns of the town. In one of the alleys he came face to face with Xemnas.

"It's time Riku," he said "we have to go now."

"But we have to help the others."

"That doesn't matter now, we need to go."

Xemnas floated gracefully toward the forest and Riku disappeared into the trees with him.

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Disclaimer: I don't own the characters.


End file.
